Senate, House pass livestock care ballot initiatve

SALEM, Ohio — The bills authorizing an agricultural ballot initiative, H.J.R. 2 and S.J.R. 6 have officially been passed through both the Ohio House of Representatives and the Senate.

The initiative will allow Ohio voters to show their support or disagreement for a constitutional amendment to establish the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board, a 13-member committee that will be responsible for creating and implementing livestock care guidelines throughout the state.

The House passed the resolution by a vote of 84-13 June 24, and the Senate unanimously passed the resolution June 25 by a vote of 32-0.

After the legislation’s final version is approved, the issue will appear on the November ballot.

Emily Caldwell of Beaver Falls, Pa., serves as the 2009 Farm and Dairy editorial intern. She is a graduate of Penn State University, where she studied agribusiness and agricultural communications. Feel free to follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/emily718.